Explosion into the canyon: breeding aggregation in Scaphiophryne gottlebei Busse & Böhme, 1992

We describe the explosive breeding aggregation event in the rainbow toad, Scaphiophryne gottlebei, an endemic frog of Isalo Massif, south-central Madagascar. The frogs were observed just after the first seasonal rainfall (early November 2009). Males and females aggregated in pools formed within the narrow canyons where they live. The breeding event lasted for three nights, with males mating with females in inguinal amplexus. Males were much more abundant than females, with a tertiary sex ratio of about 34.5% of females. Significant correlation was observed between the snout-vent length and body mass for both sexes